Quick, Easy, Inexpensive Meals to Fix When There No Time to Cook

You can also get inexpensive fast meal ideas at www.kraftfoods.com Sign up for their weekly emails and their magazine...IT'S FREE!!

Pua

Take one or two of the days when you do cook and cook extra chicken, beef or whatever type of meat you are cooking. Once done freeze it.

There is a company called Dream Dinners. Their website is dreamdinners.com. They're independently owned franchises and they provide exactly what you are looking for...only you cook it! They have specific meals that you can make each month and you pay by the amount of servings you wish to have, 3 or 6, and you have to have a minimum of 36 servings per time. Each dinner is charged a different fee based upon what it is. My parents are going to start using it b/c they're soo busy. It looks awesome!!!

I use my crockpot a lot. Take about 15-30 minutes of prep, set it to cook all day while your gone and come home to a full course home cooked meal ready to eat. You name it, it can most likely made in a crockpot even lasagna! Do a google search for crockpot recipes and your possibilities are endless.

For a good prepare ahead meal, try some chili. I take a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of kidney beans, a can of black beans, ground beef or turkey, a few tablespoons of salsa, a diced onion and some garlic. If you don't have much time you can use onion and garlic powder. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin to taste. If you like it hotter, use red pepper flakes. We eat this with salad and corn bread, and each person puts what they want on top - cheese, sour cream, jalapenos. Double the recipe and freeze the rest for the future.

You can also make this in the crock pot, and I strongly recommend crock pots for busy nights. Just throw everything in before you leave the house in the morning, set it on low and when you come home you have dinner.

Easy crock pot roast: Cut up vegetables of your choice (onions, celery, potatoes, carrots) and place in the bottom of the pot. Take a roast and brown it on all sides in a pan. Place on top of the veggies. cover with water. add a beef bouillion cube; or use half water and half broth if you have it. Set it on low and let it cook all day. Delicious!

I often set up a meal the night before and put it in the fridge - when I come home I can throw it in the oven.

Well, I know you didn't want frozen meals that are expensive.. this may be an alternative... Harris Ranch brand makes these pre-cooked, beef-based meals that are not frozen and they actually taste good! They have stew, beef ribs, swiss steak, and a couple more that don't come to mind right now. They cost between $7.00 up to $10.00 or so each and the individual meals are about one pound. I cook two, and it feeds my husband, two daughters (ages 4 and nearly 8) and myself with some leftovers.

Hope that helps you!

Hi S....

I have 3 kids so most of my meals HAVE to be easy and somewhat quick not to mention healthy. I mostly make things from scratch and find that we eat so much better and cheaper that way. we only eat out "MAYBE" twice a month.

One place that has helped me INCREDIBLY is : http://www.recipezaar.com

You can use it for free or sign up for a membership (membership gives extra perks) Just about anything you are looking for is there... make ahead freezer meals, quick meals, healthy meals, meals from your childhood, pretty much anything. This site is a blessing for me, when ever I am in a bind and either haven't gone to the store or need something fast I go there and ALWAYS find something to make. PLUS other members rate the recipes and let you know what they thought of it. I hope this helps, it's one of my FAVORITE SITES!!

Good luck! :)

I have the same challenge. I have discovered that I can make a variety of meals from a few of these basic ingredients:

Meat: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Ground turkey meat
Kielbasa sausage

Vegetables: Fresh produce - 1st choice
Frozen vegetables - 2nd choice

Choose your meat and the vegetable your family likes. Mix these with your choice of a gravy or sauce.

Starch: Variety of Pastas (angel hair spaghetti, penne, etc.)
Potatoes (baked, boiled; russet or red potatoes)
Rice (white or other variety)

You can take the mix of meat, vegetable and sauce and serve it with OR over your choice of starch.

You can also add a salad or bread (cornbread, french rolls) to enhance your meal and make it fulfilling.

I am not a "cook", so these are just very simple basics that I have found practical. Hope it's helpful!

Here's one that my picky eater will actually try! Just cook the pasta of your choice. After you've drained it add some butter a few sprinkles of onion powder few sprinkles of garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Stir it up!
Sorry I don't have precise measurements but my 4 year old ALWAYS helps me make it and it is never exact, but it is always good. I also add parmesan cheese and cut up tomatoes. You can add whatever cheese and/or veggies you want. It's a pretty good base for whatever you want to add but best of all it's fast! Enjoy!
Gaby

I made a pretty good thing the other night. I bought one of those roasted chickens ($5 at FoodMax if you live near one)and pulled the meat off and set aside. Then I boiled 8oz of noodles and set aside.(I used shells but any kind works) In a large skillet, sautee some butter, onions and garlic. Then add the chicken, a can of corn, can of peas, 1 1/4 cup milk, 1 can of creamy mushroom soup and stir it all together.
Layer the noodles in the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread the creamy mixture over it. Sprinkle 3 or 4 slices of cubed white bread and then sprinkle shredded cheese of your choice over the top. Bake on 350 for 30 minutes. Delicious, cheap and pretty quick and easy to make! Kids like it too!

I take chicken breat or teanders saute in olive oil and garlic or garlic salt cook fettacine noodles and heat Bertolli alfredo sauce and put them together. it is fast and easy and not that bad for you.

S., I would like to suggest...taking the weekend and making a weeks worth of meals and freeze them...but to make them taste good when reheated...freeze everything seperately..such as if you have spagetti...freeze the sauce seperate from the noodles...that way everything does not get soggy and will be freshest when defrosted...I hope this helps...there is no need for any special recipes only to seperate everything...

Hey, I was in the same situation the last 2 years. My parents gave me a rotissery for christmas a couple years ago. I didn't use it much, but once I did it was amazing. It comes with a basket and wheel. I usually buy the boneless skinless chicken breasts and a couple different marinades. I put a couple pieces in the marinade in the morning. Then put them in the basket as soon as I got home (usually takes about 30 minutes) but you don't have to stand there and watch it. So you can spend some time with family or do homework or whatever. mine came with a veggie steamer that you just cut the veggies and put ontop of the rotissery. So then you can make a salad (could be left over from the night before) or pasta or potatoes. The chicken is good for left over lunches. Or you can add it to a slad the next night. You can find lots of different marinades and whatnot for different meats (i have cooked whole chickens, turkeys and pork) in there. Shrimp and fish work really well too! Good luck. Let me know if you want some more ideas for the rotissery.

There is a really good message board on Yahoo for once a month cooking. Here is the link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/frozen-assets/

Hope this helps. They have alot of really good ideas and alot of recipes.

1 Pan Chicken parmisan or spaghetti

If you would like an inexpensive marinara sauce, try the diced tomatoes w/ garlic, onion & basil. I puree it in the blender or food processor & pour it over my favorite noodles or meat. You can add in cheese or other spices if you want.

FOr the chicken parmisan I do the following,

Get italian breadcrumbs (or plain if you have them on hand & add in basil, oregano, parmesan cheese). You don't have to use eggs to coat the meat, just run the chicken under water & coat w/ bread crumbs. Put the coated chicken in a large sauce pan with a little warm olive oil. Cook until just about done. Take the can of tomatoes and puree in the blender. Pour the sauce onve the meat and add just a little water. Drop in your coice of noodles. By the time to noodles are cooked, the chicken should be cooked through & you only have one dish to clean. You can add in your fav veggies or meat.

This is one of my family's favorites. It's one of the only ways I can get my daughter to eat meat. Hope you enjoy.

I cook a bunch of chicken breast in the slow cooker with tomato halves and spices. Then through out the week we have chicken torillas, chicken omlets, etc. Can also freeze cooked chicken.

S.,

I agree with with some of the other ladies that said if you don't have a crock pot, get one.

I have 3 girls, 2 stepsons and a very hungry honey at home.
We both work full time and don't always have the time, or energy to prepare a big meal.

I have some great crock pot recipes and lots of easy & quick meal ideas that kids love!

I'm actually in the process of writing a cook book just with these types of recipes in it. Real Meals for real families, real easy.

I have most of them typed up and saved on the computer already.
If you are interested, send me a private message and I'll send some over to you!

G.

PS~ Whoever sent you the kraft foods link is smart! Also try Pillsbury.com & Campbellssoup.com

S.,

If you don't have a crock pot, get one. Especially in the winter I will assemble something in the crock pot in the morning and then it is ready to eat that evening and you don't have to mess with it in the meantime. Soups, stews, roasts, chili, all sorts of bean dishes, chicken. Google "crock pot recipes" and you'll get tons of ideas. You can also find tons of ideas by googling "freezer meals." You can also make some pretty creative and even kid friendly stuff using some noodles and canned chicken breast. It really depends on what your family likes and will eat but many vegetarian recipes are really quick and easy.

:-)T.